Android Community |
- Sony Xperia Tablet Z added to Android Open Source Project
- Angry Birds Seasons and Pudding Monsters updates arrive in Google Play
- HTC One production set to increase to meet “strong demand”
- Sony Xperia L arrives unlocked for the US market
- Samsung TecTile 2 tags arrive with GALAXY S 4 support
- Field Trip for Android update brings additional country and language support
- Samsung GALAXY S 4 sales to hit 10 million next week
- NVIDIA SHIELD hits pre-order status for the gamer in you
- Android game sales will exceed traditional handhelds by the end of the quarter
- Fast & Furious 6: The Game Details Unveiled
- Fitbit updated to work with Bluetooth 4.0 on Galaxy S 4
- Nexus 4 in White and Android 4.3 rumored for June 10 release
- Easter Eggs and Ponies found in the new Google Hangouts
- Facebook on Google Glass arrives for instant photo sharing
- Google posts I/O 2013 keynote video
- Verizon Wireless increasing prepaid data allowances
- Twitter and Evernote apps arriving for Google Glass users
- New Nexus 7 outed in Google Hangouts video
| Sony Xperia Tablet Z added to Android Open Source Project Posted: 17 May 2013 11:07 AM PDT We have seen several Sony branded devices being supported under the Android Open Source Project (AOSP). The Xperia S was supported back in 2012 and a more recent addition was the Xperia Z smartphone. As of today, Sony has announced AOSP support for the Xperia Tablet Z. Similar to those other offerings from Sony, this latest basically means that the Xperia Tablet Z software will be open and available for developers.
Take note of the word developers though because this is not going to be a build for the average end user. In fact, Sony has made a point to mention the “purpose of this project is not to make stable software suited for daily use.” In other words, that seems to be another way of saying that not everything will be working. For example, some of the proprietary pieces will likely not be supported. Sony hasn’t specified exactly what is, and what isn’t working however in the past the unsupported items have included the modem and camera. Again, the release of this software goes to the developers and from here, Sony is looking for contributions. The project has a home on Github, which is listed as sonyxperiadev / device-sony-sgp321. Aside from the launching of the AOSP, the Xperia Tablet Z recently came available for pre-order for those in the US market. The tablet is priced from $499.99, which is for the 16GB model. That model is available only in black, however the 32GB model is available in two colors — black and white. The 32GB Xperia Tablet Z is $599.99. As of now the tablet is expected to begin shipping on May 24, 2013. A quick recap of the specs shows a device that will be running Jelly Bean and launching with a 10.1-inch Full HD Reality Display, quad-core 1.5GHz Snapdragon S4 Pro processor, 2GB of RAM, NFC and HDMI. The Xperia Tablet Z is also water and dust-resistant and measures in with a thickness of just 0.27-inches. Those interested in the tablet may also benefit from our previous hands-on coverage. SOURCE: Sony |
| Angry Birds Seasons and Pudding Monsters updates arrive in Google Play Posted: 17 May 2013 09:30 AM PDT It looks like a few game updates have arrived just in time for the weekend. The games include Angry Birds Seasons from Rovio Mobile and Pudding Monsters from ZeptoLab. Both of the updates are already available in the Google Play Store and they are each adding quite a few new levels.
The Seasons update is Abra-Ca-Bacon with 36 new levels and the Pudding Monsters update is Sky View which is bringing 25 new levels of game play. Both of the games are available for free, however there is an HD version of Pudding Monsters available for $0.99. Pricing aside though, lets take a deeper look at each of these updates. Beginning first with Angry Birds Seasons. Aside from the 36 new levels, which Rovio happens to be touting as magical, this update also includes portals and a new power-up. The portals will bring new gameplay an as the name would imply, they will allow the user to “magically” transport within the level they are playing. Those looking for the new power-up should be on the lookout for the exploding magic box called AllakaBAM.
Shifting over to Pudding Monsters and those playing will find an update that brings the gameplay to the outdoors. Well, the virtual outdoors anyway. The Sky View update will have you climbing mountains and you will also be able to move those mountains with the new Mr. Powerlifter Monster. Those mountains can also be split (in an effort to collect more stars) using cones. All said and done, two decent sized updates. Otherwise, as many will already realize, each of these developers have other titles available. In the case of Rovio Mobile, they have quite a few versions of Angry Birds with a recent release being the social-minded Friends. ZeptoLab on the other hand has Cut The Rope, which recently had a new additional called Time Travel. SOURCE: Angry Birds Seasons and Pudding Monsters |
| HTC One production set to increase to meet “strong demand” Posted: 17 May 2013 08:48 AM PDT HTC had been having component shortage issues with the One smartphone, however it looks like those are currently in the process of being resolved. In an effort to try and put those issues in the past, HTC is now expected to begin ramping up production. In fact, Jack Tong, president of HTC North Asia has said production will be increasing this month and then again in June.
The comments have arrived by way of a recent Focus Taiwan report and Tong has said the “capacity is expected to rise significantly starting from mid-May.” The manufacturing process is expected to double in May (as compared to the month of April) and then increase again in June. Further comments from Tong show the production bump as being a response to “strong demand” with a mention about HTC is “optimistic” when it comes their “high-end sales during April and June.” The increase in production could help HTC however they still have a long road ahead.
Looking back to the first quarter results and revenue was still down. That report had revenue at $1.45 billion and with a drop in sales that hovered around 50 percent (as compared to the same quarter in the previous year). The HTC One is obviously a big deal for HTC at this point, however they still have other handsets to push and market. Another recent release was the HTC First, which some may recognize as the Facebook phone. The First is running the Facebook Home launcher and is available with AT&T. The First is not sporting high-end specs, however there are some perks. For one, you can turn off Facebook Home and have a relatively clean Android experience. Of course, a recent price drop by AT&T did cause some speculation in terms of the current level of success for the HTC First. VIA: ZDNet |
| Sony Xperia L arrives unlocked for the US market Posted: 17 May 2013 08:12 AM PDT Sony has officially launched another Xperia branded handset for those in the US market. This latest addition is the Sony Xperia L and similar to other recent releases, this one has arrived unlocked and is being sold on a no-contract basis. The Xperia L sports a 4.3-inch display with a screen resolution of 854 x 480 and is running Android 4.1 Jelly Bean.
Otherwise, the specs are not what we would describe as being high-end, however the handset does have a price that matches. The Xperia L has 8GB of internal storage along with a microSD card slot and is powered by a dual-core 1GHz Qualcomm MSM8230 processor with 1GB of RAM. Those making a purchase can also expect to find the usual array of features including WiFi, Bluetooth 4.0, GPS, NFC and a 3.5mm headphone jack. The Xperia L has a front-facing camera along with an 8 megapixel rear-facing camera. Sony touts the Xperia L as being a “camera lovers’ phone” which seems to be another way of saying the handset has the ExmorRS for Mobile image sensor. The other bit worth mentioning is the colors — the Xperia L is available in black, white or red. Sony has the Xperia L priced at $349.99 and at present, the store listing is showing an estimated shipping date of May 23rd. Additionally, as we often seen with Sony Store orders, those ordering the Xperia L will get free ground shipping. Looking back and we have also seen the Xperia Z and Xperia ZL come available for those in the US. Both of those handsets are also selling unlocked and they are each priced at $629.99. Finally, as per what seems standard for unlocked Sony handsets here in the US, the Xperia L has network support for HSPA+ on the 850, 1900, 1700, 2100 MHz bands. SOURCE: Sony |
| Samsung TecTile 2 tags arrive with GALAXY S 4 support Posted: 17 May 2013 07:43 AM PDT The GALAXY S 4 was discovered to be incompatible with the current line of NFC TecTile tags a few weeks earlier. At that time Samsung let it be known that a next-generation TecTile was coming and well, as of today they have come available for sale. The newly updated tags have been dubbed TecTiles 2 and they are currently available with Samsung.
The Samsung TecTiles 2 come in packs of five and are priced at $14.99. Aside from being available with Samsung, the tags are also going to be available with other retailers beginning in June. Samsung hasn’t offered a specific list of retailers, however they have been available with Amazon in the past. These new tags will work with the GALAXY S 4, however they are also compatible with “all Samsung NFC-enabled Android smartphones.” Similar to the original tags, these work in conjunction with the Samsung TecTile app found in the Google Play Store. The app is free to download and free to use and allows the user to program (and re-program) the tags. Usage will likely vary from person to person, however some of the suggested use cases include setting adjustments, making phone calls, launching applications and getting social with check-ins or status updates. The TecTile app is fairly simple to use and walks you through the process fairly well. Current TecTile users may also want to grab the latest update for the mobile app. Samsung rolled-out an app update back on May 15th which expanded the list of settings that can be adjusted. Again, the use cases are wide and limited mostly to a persons imagination. Some ways that we are using them are on a bedside tablet to set an alarm and silence the phone for the night and also to turn on Bluetooth and launch a music app when getting in a car. SOURCE: Samsung |
| Field Trip for Android update brings additional country and language support Posted: 17 May 2013 07:16 AM PDT Field Trip is an app that is designed to help you find interesting things that are happening in the real world. As the name would imply, it should be good for those taking a trip as the discovery could point you towards things that you may have missed otherwise. The app runs in the background on your phone and provides alerts when you are near something that may be of interest. With that in mind, it looks like a recent update will make Field Trip a bit more useful for the world traveler.
The update is already available in the Google Play Store and brings the app up to version 1.09. More important though, the update brings the supported languages up to over 30 and the supported countries up to over 80. This update also added the ability to automatically translate any cards that are not in your native language. Again, a new addition that should be good for those traveling the world. Otherwise, the one other addition that arrived with this latest update is a new zoomed-out mode. The changelog describes this as being a ” zoomed-out view of map that aggregates cards to make discovering sights and stories easier.” Update aside, the Field Trip app is free of charge and remains available for devices running Android 2.3 or later. The Field Trip app comes by way of the NianticLabs, which is a name that may sound familiar to some — they are the same group that is responsible for Ingress. Similar to Field Trip, Ingress is also available for free and for devices with Android 2.3 or later. While Field Trip is for discovery and Ingress is a game, there is a connection aside from being from the same developer. You see, Ingress players may also want to install Field Trip as that can be used to help you discover portals. Basically, the Ingress portals will be shown in Field Trip just like any other item that you may be alerted to. With that, while both apps are available in the Google Play Store, Ingress is still only available in a closed beta form and an invite is required. SOURCE: Google Play Store |
| Samsung GALAXY S 4 sales to hit 10 million next week Posted: 17 May 2013 06:39 AM PDT Samsung GALAXY S 4 sales are expected to cross the 10 million mark within the week. Assuming things play out as Samsung is expecting, this would have the GALAXY S 4 taking the fastest sales honor away from the Galaxy S III. The talk of GALAXY S 4 sales is coming by way of Samsung CEO JK Shin who had been speaking at an industry event in Seoul.
The Galaxy S III took 50 days to reach 10 million so if GALAXY S 4 sales topped 10 million next week, that would be roughly 20 days quicker. Needless to say, we are fairly certain Samsung will provide some sort of announcement after the milestone has been reached. In the meantime, JK Shin has said;
Looking back, Samsung began selling the GALAXY S 4 in Korea on April 26 and since that point, the handset has come available in 60 different countries. Aside from waiting for the current sales figures to crest 10 million, the GALAXY S 4 has been getting more than a fair amount of attention lately. The handset recently became the first smartphone to achieve the TCO Certification and the folks at Fitbit have also enabled syncing over Bluetooth.
Otherwise, we did see somewhat of a GALAXY S 4 related surprise coming out of Google I/O this year. There was a Google Edition GALAXY S 4 announced that will arrive running a vanilla Android installation. This particular model isn’t going to be available until June 26th, however it will be arriving unlocked. The hardware specs for the Google Edition GALAXY S 4 remain the same as the regular model, however the handset will get updates in a manner similar to the Nexus line of devices. Aside from talk of the GALAXY S 4, Shin also commented briefly on the Galaxy Note III. In speaking about a flexible display, Shin said “more time will be needed” and that for now, the Note III will be launching with a 5.9-inch OLED display and that the handset will be unveiled during IFA 2013. VIA: TNW SOURCE: Korea Times |
| NVIDIA SHIELD hits pre-order status for the gamer in you Posted: 17 May 2013 06:00 AM PDT Earlier this week the team from NVIDIA officially announced their new Project SHIELD gaming device would go up for sale in June. We confirmed on Tuesday morning that SHIELD would be available for pre-order starting on May 20th for $349, but today we have even better news. Thanks to a big demand and social buzz, they’ve moved the date up to today.
All you diehard gamers will be happy to know that NVIDIA and plenty of game developers are extremely excited about the quad-core Tegra 4 powered gaming device. So much in fact, that all their partners have agreed to push up the pre-order date by a few days. Starting today, May 17th, the NVIDIA SHIELD game console is available for reservation from multiple different outlets. Sadly SHIELD still isn’t quite available yet, and we don’t have an exact date as to when it will ship. NVIDIA confirmed early June was their goal, and things are moving along nicely if they are already moving up the pre-order date. In a blog post this morning, NVIDIA confirmed that Newegg, Gamestop, Canada Computers, and themselves all have opened up pre-orders for buyers today, and Microcenter will join them soon.
In the video above you get a quick look at NVIDIA’s SHIELD gaming device, and we have tons of additional coverage from the timeline below for those interested. This is more than just a gaming device. It’s a full-fledged game-console. Being able to play Android games, and then use NVIDIA’s upcoming Geforce experience for full PC games, including those from Steam, is what makes it quite the product. For now it remains to be seen just how successful SHIELD will be, but we have a feeling gamers will love it. Having additional time with it here at Google I/O in the final form, it’s quite fun and we think many will enjoy the experience. Get it today from the various partner links provided by NVIDIA for just $349. SOURCE: NVIDIA Blog |
| Android game sales will exceed traditional handhelds by the end of the quarter Posted: 17 May 2013 04:54 AM PDT When it comes to mobile gaming, the vast majority of gamers aren’t choosing a dedicated mobile gaming console, they are using smartphones and tablets. It’s also no surprise when you step back and consider that the Android ecosystem is by far large the most popular out there that a huge number of mobile gamers are gaming on Android devices.
A new report has been published by App Annie that shows mobile devices such as Android and iOS gadgets are decimating traditional handheld gaming consoles when it comes to sales. The report shows that sales of iOS games have already passed sales of games on traditional portable consoles such as the Nintendo 3DS and PS Vita. The report also shows that sales of games via Google Play are expected to surpass game sales on those portable consoles within the next few months. Spending on game software for traditional portable consoles has declined significantly between Q4 2012 and Q1 of 2013, the market is booming for mobile devices. Another interesting tidbit about the figures when it comes to revenue generated is that ad revenue isn’t considered in the numbers. Considering how many games use the freemium model supporting in app purchases, the gap between money made on mobile platforms and on traditional handheld gaming platforms is likely even larger than it looks. While neither the PS Vita or the Nintendo 3DS have proven as popular as their predecessors, the money made for Nintendo’s incredibly popular DS and DSi consoles is also on the decline. Not everything is rosy in the mobile gaming environment though, some developers are seeing piracy rates for Android games as high as 95%. SOURCE: SlashGear |
| Fast & Furious 6: The Game Details Unveiled Posted: 17 May 2013 04:37 AM PDT Kabam announced back in April that it would be producing a new mobile video game based on the film Fast & Furious 6. The game is called Fast & Furious 6: The Game and this week it has launched on the iOS platform. We already knew the game was coming for Apple fans and Android fans alike.
The company has offered no additional details on exactly when the game will launch on the Android platform, but it did offer up a new screenshot that shows graphics on the game will be very impressive. Along with that screenshot come details on the game including that it will be a free to play racing title. The company promises that the app will have console quality graphics and a unique take on street racing games. The game is based on a storyline that runs parallel to the plot of the feature film. In the game players will race alongside characters from the new film as they drag race and drift through street races and various heists. The game will allow players to customize cars with decals and custom paint jobs. There’ll also be a number of vehicles that players can acquire from manufacturers including BMW, Honda, Dodge, and Ford. The game is free to play, but that likely means that it will be supported by in game purchases. You can check out the trailer for the game below and keep an eye on Google Play in the coming days for the game to launch. SOURCE: Kabam |
| Fitbit updated to work with Bluetooth 4.0 on Galaxy S 4 Posted: 17 May 2013 04:27 AM PDT We spent a lot of hands-on time with the Fitbit fitness trackers and application this year and came away liking the devices. One of things that a lot of people don’t like about Fitbit is the fact that the activity tracking bracelet doesn’t work with every Android device out there. One of the very popular new smartphones that Fitbit wasn’t compatible with is the new Samsung Galaxy S 4.
That has now changed with Fitbit announcing this week that its device now supports Bluetooth 4.0 on the Galaxy S 4 smartphone. If you’re unfamiliar with the Fitbit devices, they are wearable bracelets that send all sorts of information about you and how much you exercise to the application that runs on your smartphone. The company has added Bluetooth 4.0 sync support for the device and notes that adding support required custom development. In fact, Fitbit says that right now every Bluetooth 4.0 device requires custom development, which explains why the Fitbit bracelets don’t work with all Bluetooth 4.0 devices on the market right now. The company says that custom development is required because phones supporting Bluetooth 4.0 hardware don’t have the software needed for support third-party apps. Custom development is needed for the Fitbit application to access the Bluetooth hardware. The good news is that Google has announced it will be standardizing support for Bluetooth 4.0 in a future version on the Android operating system. Fitbit says that once that standard supported is added, it will be an easy task to add support for new devices. SOURCE: Slashgear |
| Nexus 4 in White and Android 4.3 rumored for June 10 release Posted: 16 May 2013 04:56 PM PDT We heard a lot of rumors and chatter leading up to Google I/O this year. Many were saying Android 4.3 or 5.0 Key Lime Pie, a new Nexus 7, and even reports of a 4G LTE powered Nexus 4 for all carriers. However, as you all know, this year went very different from years past. Google focused on developers, and didn’t drop a new version of Android, or any new hardware. Don’t worry though because good things come to those who wait.
Leading up to Wednesday there was also multiple reports and videos that surfaced of White Nexus 4 smartphones, and the rumor was that it would be what Google used to show their latest version of Android with. Well, now those rumors are back because a White LG Nexus 4 was found here roaming the halls of Google I/O, and the story along with it is quite interesting. As it goes, according to Android and Me, is that Google will be releasing Android 4.3 Jelly Bean along with a white 16GB Nexus 4 in June. On June 10th to be exact. According to the report it will be the same Nexus 4 we know and love now, in white, and with the newest OS changes from Google. There’s no mention of it supporting 4G LTE like rumors have suggested, but they didn’t rule it out either. To many of our surprise, Google didn’t announce Android 4.3 or any new version of Android yesterday. Apparently they wanted to focus solely on developers and will drop all this other news soon for the masses. They intentionally dropped it from the show, pushed the keynote into one long 3 hour session instead of 2, and will reveal it all at a later date. We’re not really sure what to think about the report, but we’ll just have to wait and see. Nothing has leaked regarding Android 4.3 as far as features or changes, but surely it’s coming, we just don’t know when. If the details revealed here at I/O are any indication, we could be having a pretty fun few weeks in June as this all rolls out to the Nexus 4, and all other Nexus devices. Stay tuned and we’ll update when we learn more. SOURCE: Android and Me |
| Easter Eggs and Ponies found in the new Google Hangouts Posted: 16 May 2013 03:11 PM PDT This week at Google I/O the Mountain View company released their new and improved Hangouts, which aims to replace Google+ Hangouts, Google Talk, and other messaging services. As usual, Google’s loaded the app full of Easter Eggs, and as expected they are quite fun. Be careful though, you could irritate friends and family quite fast with all these little tricks.
The full list of Easter Eggs were spotted over on Google+, then thanks to Chris Sewell we have the nice little video below showing off one of the many Easter Eggs. Sadly, before you try it on your mobile device, these only work on the web version of Google Hangouts, but that’s likely to change. Who doesn’t love a good trick on their Android device too. Just like all those little hidden Easter Eggs in Android, Google Search, and more we have the same thing now for Hangouts. Google likes to keep it classy, and you can try all those mentioned above. Change the background for everyone, the ponies running across the screen are fun, and the shy dinosaur is too. Check it out. Instead of just having one or two like Google Talk, we have the entire list you see above. Including the Konami code, which is also quite fun to try on the Chromebook Pixel. So if you’d like to have some fun with the new Hangouts, here’s how to do it. Enjoy, and let us know if you find any others worth giving a try. |
| Facebook on Google Glass arrives for instant photo sharing Posted: 16 May 2013 02:39 PM PDT This afternoon, along with many others, Facebook has just launched their official app for Google Glass. They are the latest out of a long line that have just announced their acceptance of the wearable computing device. Today we saw similar launches for Twitter, Evernote and more. It isn’t a full featured app obviously, but that wasn’t the point at this stage.
Using the new Facebook for Google Glass, users will be able to instantly snap and upload photos direct to their friends and timeline. Then they took it one step further, and you’ll be able to add a quick sentence or description to the image just by speaking it out loud. Using Google’s voice capabilities you can add some info to go along with the image. The developer behind the new Facebook for Glass, Erick Tseng, is an ex-Googler from the Android side of things so it was a nice and simple project for him and his team. While mentioning the release himself on Facebook, he had this to say about the future.
Facebook has just revealed the new app at the perfect time, as Google’s I/O event is obviously going on as we speak. With Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Evernote and more on board things are coming along quite nicely for the device. Sadly Google didn’t have much to announce about Glass at yesterdays keynote, somewhere we thought we’d be hearing plenty about its future. Glass still isn’t expected to hit retail until sometime in 2014, but development is already under way full steam. More details can be found from the source link below, and head to Facebook yourself to get started. |
| Google posts I/O 2013 keynote video Posted: 16 May 2013 01:18 PM PDT Google I/O began yesterday and kicking the event off was the over-sized keynote. This years keynote seems to have been a bit different as compared to previous years. We had heard rumblings about that before I/O began, however it seems most were in denial and still hoping to see lots of hardware announcements.
Those who followed the news yesterday will realize that didn’t happen. In fact, this was very much a developer oriented keynote and while there was mention of some goodies for the average user — the hardware focus never came. We didn’t see the rumored Nexus 4 with LTE and Android 4.3 and we didn’t see the beefed up Nexus 7 either. There was one bit of hardware news though, the Google Edition GALAXY S 4. This handset will be available in June, but perhaps key was the software. The GALAXY S 4 Google Edition will be running a stock Android installation and as such, will be updated in a manner similar to the other Nexus devices. Keeping on the topic of hardware, there still could be an new Nexus 7 coming. Other goodies that we did see, and one that was for everyone was Hangouts. The app came available for Android users yesterday and serves to replace the older Google Talk app. If you haven’t already checked Hangouts out, you may want to take a peek at out hands-on from earlier. Another big item here was Maps, both for the desktop and mobile side. The Maps for Mobile app picked up goodies such as search and rating improvements along with Zagat and more. Additionally, Google Search and Google+ received quite a bit of attention with a whopping 41 new features confirmed as coming to the latter. With that, as Google I/O continues through May 17th you can expect continued coverage. Plus, you can check out the earlier coverage in the Google I/O portal. |
| Verizon Wireless increasing prepaid data allowances Posted: 16 May 2013 12:51 PM PDT Verizon Wireless introduced a pair of prepaid smartphone plans back in early February. At the time those plans were offering 500MB of data for $60 per month or 2GB of data for $70 per month. Both plans also included unlimited voice minutes and unlimited messaging. Flash forward till today and it looks like Big Red has announced an increase for the data.
The $60 per month plan is going from 500MB to 2GB and the $70 per month plan is going from 2GB to 4GB. The talk and text will remain unlimited. With that in mind, current customers will have these new data limits in place as of today. Otherwise, new customers will be able to sign up for these newly updated plans beginning on June 6. Verizon hasn’t said why they are offering the data incase, however it seems like this could have been done in an effort to keep up with some of the other recent additions to the prepaid market. Just this month alone we have seen ItsOne roll-out Zact and AT&T roll-out Aio Wireless, though it is worth mentioning that the Aio Wireless coverage is limited to a few markets at the moment. Looking back, AT&T launched Aio Wireless for those inTampa, Orlando and Houston with the promise of more markets coming available later in the year. These plans are priced from $35 on the low end and up to $70 on the high end. Taking a middle of the line Aio Wireless plan and those interested could get unlimited talk and text along with 2GB of data for $55 per month. Zact on the other hand is pushing flexibility. In fact, they have fully customizable plans available with prices starting as low as $3.49 per month. Shifting back to Verizon, there are phones available for these prepaid plans or you can bring your own. In fact, Verizon has said that a “new smartphone isn't necessary” in this case and that a “no-longer-used smartphone sitting in a drawer at home can be activated on a prepaid plan with no annual contract.” Simply put, Verizon seems like they are trying to make it easy for those interested to get up and running with a prepaid account. SOURCE: Verizon Wireless |
| Twitter and Evernote apps arriving for Google Glass users Posted: 16 May 2013 12:14 PM PDT Google Glass apps had been pretty limited and up until today there was just two, one for Path and the other for The New York Times. That said, the app situation appears to be growing as of today. There has been several apps mentioned and today we are getting a look at one from Twitter and from Evernote.
The Twitter app will be launching with a focus on image sharing and it will be made clear where these images are coming from. In fact, all images sent to Twitter using Glass will have the following text; Just shared a photo #throughglass. Or course, as you will see in the images sitting below, there will also be a link to the image. Aside from the image sharing, Twitter for Glass will also allow the user to see Tweets as well as mentions and direct messages. For those worried about an endless stream of messages going through Glass, worry not as you will need to turn on notifications for the people that you want to see in Glass. Users can also favorite Tweets, retweet and reply to messages using the Glass app.   Aside from Twitter, the folks at Evernote have also revealed some details on their Glass app. Users will be able to capture image and video notes and send them to Evernote using the Glass sharing menu. The app will also allow users to pick notes from Evernote Web and send them to your Google Glass Timeline for future reference.
Evernote is providing what they are calling a first look at the app. Basically, offering a set of details with a teaser letting users know that “this is only the beginning” and they are “getting a glimpse of simple and useful ways that Evernote can be used with Google Glass.” Otherwise, the Twitter app is currently available and Glass users can head to google.com/myglass to get things installed and setup. SOURCE: Twitter Blog and Evernote Blog |
| New Nexus 7 outed in Google Hangouts video Posted: 16 May 2013 11:22 AM PDT This week Google I/O brought tons of exciting new features and news in the world of Android. Sadly, there wasn’t new hardware or that Nexus 7 redux we’ve been talking about as of late. Many rumors and leaks suggest a new Nexus 7 is coming, but Google didn’t unveil anything. However, their new Google+ Hangouts video released yesterday might have just given us our first glance.
For the few that have owned the Nexus One, Galaxy Nexus, and Nexus 4 (like myself) you all probably love the multicolor notification light Google’s added to these devices. We wish all smartphones had a blinking notification LED, but many leave it out. The original and first Nexus 7 didn’t have this oft-seen Nexus feature, but the next one might. The image you see above appears to be a tablet, very similar to the Nexus 7, and it rocks the same multicolor RGB notification LED we’ve come to love on other Nexus phones. Yesterday Google unveiled their new Hangouts app for messaging, video calling and more, that’s cross-platform. In their just released video a few seconds in (20 second mark) we possibly get our first look at the upcoming slate. Interesting right? Take a peek yourself. According to the folks at AusDroid we could be seeing the new Nexus 7 here, before Google planned to mention it. And we’d have to agree. Was this a mistake, or just some casual Google teasing? Previous rumors and reports have stated a 1920 x 1200 full 1080p HD Nexus 7 was in the works, to be revealed at IO, with a Qualcomm Snapdragon quad-core and Android 4.3. Or whatever version of Android they announced. Since we didn’t get either of those things, what do you guys think? Is this just a promo video we’re looking into too much, or will Google be dropping a new Nexus tablet in the coming weeks or months? Last we heard it was on track for July. Sound about right? SOURCE: Google+ |
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